six feet under the stars
by punksvice
Summary: phil grew up in the city, so he hasn't seen much natural phenomena in his life. luckily, jeff is here to change that and open him up to a whole new world he's only ever dreamed about.


Jeff had been waiting for this weather forecast in his hometown for weeks. It was springtime, one of his favorites, and last time the sky was clear he didn't get the chance to do what he had planned for Phil - stargazing, of course - so he jumped at the chance when he checked his weather app this morning. Phil was staying with him while they were between wrestling shows, as they were closer to Jeff's home the next couple of weeks. So jeff made sure to get all the necessary supplies ready while Phil was busy doing whatever it was he was doing after they started their morning - he would find out later, and he wasn't worried about him. For now, he had a mission to prepare for. He set out four folded blankets on their bed, and grabbed all of the extra pillows they had in the closet and set them on the bed as well. The next step was outerwear; he took the two heaviest coats they had and brought them to the collection on the bed. Just for good measure, he went over to where Phil was and checked to make sure his path was still clear. Phil was in Jeff's office room, which was also Phil's office room by now, and saw him deeply concentrated on a sketch pad with his favorite over-ear Beats headphones playing; he had plenty of time.

He returned to the bedroom and took a mental check of what else he would need, and all that was left was snacks. He gathered a few of their favorite things to snack on and put everything in a grocery bag, and when he was satisfied with his work he moved on to the next step. He grabbed the blankets and used one of the side doors closest to his truck so he could sneak out and lay out the blankets flat on his truck bed. Next were the pillows, which he put at the top of the truck bed so there were about 7 big pillows spread across it. He stepped back and surveyed his makeshift bed, and was satisfied. He loaded in the jackets and the snacks by the pillows, and rolled the cover over the truck bed so nothing would fly away, and also so Phil wouldn't see what it was. He closed up the back door, and went back into the house to find Phil now that he was finished up and prepared for their adventure later. They went about their days, which mostly consisted of quietly working on their art in the office together, occasionally getting lost in make out sessions and sweet kisses and comparing their art work progress. Around 7, after they had eaten dinner and were cuddling on the couch as a movie played on tv, Jeff looked out the window and saw the sky beginning to fade. He sat up a little more and said, "Hey, I've been meaning to show you something lately but we haven't had time. You up for a short drive?"

Phil looked at him like he knew this meant an adventure, and said, "Do I get to know?"

"Nope."

"Of course not. Yes, I'm up for a 'short drive' jeffro, I always am," smiled Phil, and this got a smile back from Jeff.

"Well let's go then," said Jeff, and he kissed Phil before getting up and taking his hand. Phil intertwined his fingers with Jeff's, tattoos mixing together in a perfectly opposing combination.

He was led to Jeff's truck, and he was trying to see if anything was abnormal, but he couldn't see anything. The cover on the truck bed was usually rolled out during the winter, so that wasn't surprising to see. So far, Phil was clueless. Jeff noticed him trying to look for clues and when they got in the truck, Phil looked absolutely puzzled. Jeff let out a laugh that danced around the inside of the truck and inside Phil's heart, and said,

"The more confused the better. Trust me darlin'," and Phil relaxed at the pet name, always said with an extra bit of drawl.

They drove for about 15 minutes until they came to what looked like - nothing. Just more trees. Phil looked over at Jeff, obviously still confused. Jeff gave him an excited smile and said,

"We aren't there yet. Gotta drive for another minute through the trees."

"THROUGH the trees!? What the hell are you up to Jeff!?" and Jeff laughed again, because he loved that Phil didn't grow up in the country, because these kinds of surprises were always the best.

"There's a road, don't worry, I'm not tryna kill ya," said Jeff, and Phil replied a little exacerbated,

"Sometimes I wonder..." and Jeff laughed again, and Phil thought this must be good because he always laughed like he was trying to hold himself back a little when he did this.

They drove another minute until they came to an opening, and Phil was starting to understand what was happening. Jeff stopped the truck in the middle of the opening, shut the lights off and said,

"Alright, this is it. Follow me," and he pecked Phil on the lips before exiting the truck. Phil followed him out as he walked to the very back of the truck and lowered the back door. He asked Phil to help him roll up the cover, so he did. And he saw blankets and pillows and jackets and grocery bag, and now he knew. Phil hadn't ever seen the Milky Way before, but he knew it was always visible out here when it was clear out.

Jeff was showing him the Milky Way.

He jumped into the truck bed, wasting no time in looking up at the sky - the trees around them weren't very close, so they had a nice wide view of the sky - and after his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he saw it. All he could do was sit there with his jaw half open and stare at it, because it was so much better than he could have possibly imagined. He felt the weight of the truck shift as Jeff climbed in and wrapped his arms around Phil. It was quiet for a few moments, save for the rustle of leaves surrounding them and cicadas in the grass.

Phil spoke up in a whisper, afraid if he spoke too loud the sky would disappear, "Holy shit," and Jeff giggled into his neck in response.

"It isn't goin' anywhere baby, lay down," Jeff whispered, so Phil did so but only looked down to make sure his head landed on the pillows. He was on his back and Jeff was propped up on his elbow on his side, just watching Phil watch the sky with an amount of awe in his eyes he wasn't sure Jeff had seen before. After a moment, he laid down against Phil and rested his leg over his, and wrapped an arm around his torso as he drew patterns on the side of his rib cage.

Phil whispered again, "There's no way to describe this. It's incredible," he beamed. He looked over at Jeff for the first time since they arrived, and Jeff couldn't do anything but giggle because Phil looked genuinely star struck, and this is exactly the reaction he wanted.

"I saw the forecast this morning and knew I had to take you out here. I still can't believe this is the first time you're seeing it, but I'm glad I'm the one showing you," said Jeff. Phil was still looking at Jeff like the Milky Way was the one showing Phil who Jeff was, and he leaned forward to kiss him as a thank you for this, and for everything else. Jeff knew that's what he meant by the way he was being kissed, so he deepened it to let him know the feelings were reciprocated.

They stayed there for a few hours enjoying each other's company and Jeff enjoying the expression on Phil's face every time he looked back up. The fact that there wasn't much of a difference between his expressions when he looked back at Jeff had them both feeling more in love than they thought they possibly could be. Sure, Phil had finally seen the Milky Way and it was incredible, but if it was anyone other than Jeff showing him this, he probably wouldn't care much. But it was Jeff, and he had executed another perfect surprise that only brought them that much closer, and deepened their connection at a level neither of them thought they would ever feel with another human being.


End file.
